FLUG REVUE November 2002: Handguns for pilots no solution

FORTRESS COCKPIT

By Volker K. Thomalla

The US House of Representatives and Senate have, by a large majority, passed a law that will in future allow American pilots to take handguns with them into the cockpit for the purposes of self-defence. President George W. Bush, who had previously been opposed to such a regulation, announced that he would support it. This lays the legal groundwork for the carrying of firearms in the cockpit, but implementation will take some time. Before pistols can be carried in practice, the airlines will have to agree a set of procedures with the airports that enable pilots to take their weapons through the security gates, and pilots will have to demonstrate that they have previously undergone special training in the handling of weapons.

The new law has not met with approval in all quarters. Unlike the US Air Line Pilots Associations, which got the law through after intensive lobbying, the airlines are not happy about the new statute. It is their unanimous opinion that weapons do not belong in passenger aircraft. Since 11 September on-board security has been improved by a number of measures. Thus, checks at airports are more stringent than ever before – as passengers can see for themselves every day at any airport – while in addition many flights have on-board security officials or air marshals. On top of this, by the end of April 2003 all cockpit doors will have to be reinforced so that they cannot be opened from the passenger cabin by force. In many cases, cockpit doors have already been upgraded and a not inconsiderable number of them are even resistant to gunfire. It is thus no longer possible to gain access to the cockpit.

But it is precisely here that critics see a problem. If a hijack were to be attempted on board, then the kidnappers would not be able to get into the cockpit as the doors would be secure. If the pilots are now armed, then the temptation exists to open the cockpit door and resolve the situation. But this of all things should not be allowed to happen.

There are a fatal examples of the use of weapons on board. On 7 December 1987 a BAe-146 operated by Pacific Southwest Airlines crashed near the seaside resort of San Luis Obispo in northern California. A former employee of an airline had wanted to take revenge on his boss, who took this flight every day. He had smuggled a gun on board with the aid of his uniform and his old work pass and fired shots around him during the flight. None of the 46 persons on board survived the attack.

This law raises a number of questions that need to be answered as a matter of urgency. How do proponents of the law ensure that the guns taken on board do not fall into the wrong hands or go off by mistake? And the second, equally important question is: how will this be handled in non-American airports? Internationally, the American pilots are right out on a limb with their demand to be allowed to carry guns. In many countries private ownership of guns is against the law, and in the United Kingdom even the police do not carry guns on normal patrol duty. And yet pilots are to be allowed to enter the country with guns on them? Even in Germany, despite my best endeavours I cannot imagine cockpit crew wandering around the airport carrying a pistol. And the third question that needs to be answered is: if we want to protect people with guns, why arm only the pilots, who sit in a secure compartment, and not also the aircrew, who are actually exposed to far greater danger?

As far as I am concerned there is no question about it, the dangers associated with on-board firearms far outweigh any potential benefits. For this reason they do not belong either in airliner cockpits or in the cabin.

From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 11/2002

Last updated 1 October 2002

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